Fascism

From TNOpediA
Fascism
Ideology GroupFascism
Notable PeopleBenito Mussolini Gian Galeazzo Ciano Giovanni Gentile
Notable Parties National Fascist Party (Italy)
Fascism

Of the ideologies that emerged in the tumult following the First World War, the one that proved to have the greatest success in achieving and maintaining power in Europe was the ideology known as fascism. Borne out of the beliefs of disillusioned communists and authoritarian nationalists, fascism is often characterized as being "third positionist" due to its ideological inspiration from both the radical left and right. Although traces of Marxist doctrine can still be found buried in its worldview - it embraces a producer-parasite dialectic, but between nations instead of economic classes - its virulent nationalism puts it at odds with the internationalist mindset of socialism, and it inevitably led to violent conflict within Germany, Spain, and Italy in the interbellum decades. In all cases, the fascist parties eventually won out and forced their socialist rivals underground.

Fascism's most defining qualities come from its slavish devotion to the state. The government, often under the control of a single strongman, serves as the final arbitrator and authority in the land. Religious institutions, trade unions, private businesses, and the like are permitted to exist in some limited form, though their subservience to the state's authority is made clear. The government also upholds a national mythos, spinning tales of a noble people with past glories that were unfairly stripped from them, and demands that the populace find strength in unity and reclaim what was lost. They sneer at liberal nations for decadent complacency and socialist nations for succumbing to degeneracy - yet paradoxically view those outsiders as a looming threat who are posed to destroy everything they hold dear.

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